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Jean-Luc Roch was the only member of the 1992 Hall of Fame class for the European Baseball Federation. Few guys are more worthy of being the lone member of a class than arguably the GOAT pitcher, receiving 99.6% on the first ballot. Fellow pitcher Ugo Musacci was just short again of the 66% threshold with 62.0% for his seventh ballot. Also above 50% were 1B Isak Steffensen at 57.9% in his tenth and final try, plus SP Jose Calderon at 50.8% on his second ballot.



For Steffensen, he debuted on the ballot at only 37.7%, but slowly grew to a peak of 60.3% in 1991. He was just short despite his 16 year career with all 13 seasons in EBF with Dublin and three seasons in EPB. With the Dinos, Steffensen had five Gold Gloves, 2248 hits, 975 runs, 332 doubles, 331 triples, 139 home runs, 871 RBI, 574 stolen bases, a .311/.343/.506 slash and 64.0 WAR. The lack of power numbers hurt him with some voters and another two/three years of accumulations might have gotten him across the line. But instead, the Danish righty was banished to the Hall of Very Good.



Jean-Luc Roch – Starting Pitcher – Zurich Mountaineers – 99.6% First Ballot

Jean-Luc Roch was a 5’8’’, 185 pound left-handed pitcher from Sallertaine, a small commune of around 3,000 people in western France. Roch went down as arguably the top pitcher in EBF history with incredible stuff despite only having a peak velocity in the 92-94 mph range. He had excellent control, above average movement, and an incredible knack for changing speeds with a legendary changeup. Roch had five pitches total, also using a fastball, curveball, cutter, and knuckle curve. He was great at holding runners and had excellent durability with good stamina and the ability to keep pitch counts low.

Roch was spotted at age 15 by a scout from Zurich, who signed him to a developmental contract in January 1967. After spending four years in the academy in Switzerland, he made his debut with 29 games and 194.2 innings in 1971. He was below average as a rookie, but showed flashes of potential. Roch was a full-time starter every year after with 230+ innings in all but his final season. He got noticed with a very good sophomore season, leading the Southern Conference in strikeouts.

Roch became a regular atop the strikeout lists, leading the conference 11 times in total. This was especially impressive considering he was competing with the likes of Alejandro Canas in the SC. Roch would continue to dominate, posting ten consecutive 10+ WAR seasons from 1973-82 and 12 years with 8+ WAR. He was the WARlord nine times as well. Among Roch’s other statistical successes was leading in wins six times, ERA four times, innings once, WHIP seven times, K/BB nine times, quality starts four times, and FIP- four times.

This made Roch one of the most exciting players in Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He was beloved in Switzerland as Zurich’s ace and was loved as a French baseball icon. Roch pitched from 1974-85 for France in the World Baseball Championship, posting a 17-8 record over 209.2 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 350 strikeouts, 39 walks, and 6.8 WAR.

In 1973, Roch won Pitcher of the Year for the first time with a 1.95 ERA, 402 strikeouts, and 10.5 WAR. He’d have six seasons with an ERA below two and seven seasons with 400+ strikeouts. There have been 25 total seasons in EBF with 400Ks with Roch (7), Canas (4), and Lindsey Brampton (12) dominating the list. This also marked the start of Zurich’s historic postseason streak which ultimately saw 21 straight division titles. With Roch as the ace, the Mountaineers became an annual contender within the EBF’s Southern Conference. 14 of their 21 division titles came during Roch’s run, which included five conference titles and nine conference finals appearances.

Despite their success, Zurich seemed cursed during Roch’s time in the EBF Championship, going 0-5. You couldn’t blame him for their failings though, as his postseason stats were just as excellent as his regular season stats. Over 278 playoff innings, Roch had a 20-13 record, 2.40 ERA, 395 strikeouts to only 32 walks, 56 FIP-, and 10.3 WAR. At induction, he was the all-time playoff leader in wins, strikeouts, and WAR. As of 2037, Roch still has the most Ks in EBF playoff history and is second in both WAR and wins only behind 2020s-2030s star Nejc Novak. Roch was 1983’s conference finals MVP and saw pennants in 1976, 80, 82, 83, and 84.

Roch racked up an unprecedented eight Pitcher of the Year awards, winning in 1973, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 82, and 83. He took second in voting in 1974, third in 1978, second in 1980, and second in 84; giving him a 12 year run as either the award’s winner or a finalist. Eight remains the EBF record for the award and put him in rare company in any world league. Roch also is one of a select few in any world league with multiple Triple Crown seasons, doing it in 1975 (22-3, 1.83 ERA, 399 Ks) and then again in 1982 (24-7, 1.64 ERA, 434 Ks).

In 1977, Roch set the single-season strikeout record of 443 while Canas was at 439 the same season. Canas topped it the next year at 454 with Roch hitting 445 as a best in 1980. Brampton would top them both on five times, but Roch still holds the seventh and eighth best strikeout seasons as of 2037. Roch’s 26 wins in 1977 was one short of the single-season record and his 13.1 WAR in 1980 is the eighth best single season in EBF history. He had a career best 1.64 ERA in 1982.

Roch is also the only EBF pitcher as of 2037 to throw three no-hitters in his career. He was one of a select few in world history to throw two in one season. His first was August 23, 1975 against Naples with 12 strikeouts and one walk. A month later on September 27, he fanned nine with three walks against Seville. The next season on April 8, 1976, he struck out nine with no walks versus Milan, but narrowly missed the perfect game. During that stretch, Roch had a 39 game undefeated streak. In early 1974, Roch also posted a streak of 41 consecutive scoreless innings. Zurich locked him up long-term with a seven-year, $3,206,000 contract extension before the 1977 season.

Roch started to climb the still relatively young EBF leaderboards into his 30s. He became the third to 250 wins and the second to 5000 strikeouts both in 1983. Shortly after, he passed Pietro Ribsi and Alejandro Canas to become the career leader in both stats. Roch seemed primed to compile unreachable stats, reaching the top spots only at age 33.

Sadly, a decline came quickly despite generally being healthy. The small-framed Roch hadn’t ever relied on velocity, but it started to drop a bit in 1985. It was his worst year since his second season with under 300 strikeouts and 2.92 ERA, although he still had 6.9 WAR and was great compared to normal pitchers. That September, he suffered from forearm inflammation that kept him out of the postseason.

He was officially healthy in 1986, but not remotely the same. Roch suddenly was pedestrian with a 4.26 ERA over 192.1 innings with only 128 strikeouts. His record was 10-9, which allowed him to hit one critical milestone; 300 career wins. Roch was weak enough though by this point that Zurich didn’t use him in the playoffs, going one-and-done. He had signed a five-year, $3,950,000 extension before the 1984 season and was still a beloved figure, but he seemed completely washed in 1986. Roch still wanted that elusive ring, but he saw the writing on the wall and retired at age 36. Immediately, Zurich retired his #35 uniform.

Roch’s final stats: 300-127 record, 2.30 ERA, 4058.2 innings, 5757 strikeouts to only 625 walks, 397/515 quality starts, 116 complete games, 56 FIP, and 151.4 WAR. At induction, he was the all-time leader in wins, innings, strikeouts, and pitching WAR. As of 2037, Roch is still the WARlord and is second in both wins and strikeouts. Among EBF Hall of Fame starters, he has the fourth best ERA and second best winning percentage. Roch’s efficiency was marvelous, putting up accumulations that other all-time great pitchers needed 20+ years to hit. Any conversation about EBF’s greatest all-time pitcher features Roch mentioned prominently. His 99.6% first ballot induction was frankly too low, but he stands alone in the 1992 Hall of Fame class.